Okay, I admit that my PC is awfully fugly. A free case from 2000 courtesy of my public library, slightly modded to fit mATX parts from 2007. Meh.

But little things add up. When I first got the case, I Dremel'd out the steel around the rear fan perforations. The 80mm fan then had to blow through a 70mm hole. Almost a year later, I finally got around to making a proper 80mm hole. The result? Under full dual-core FAH load, my CPU temps dropped 3Â°C! With a room ambient of 23Â°C/73Â°F, full load temps with a stock fan and cooler are now just 46Â°C!

I figured I'd post pics with the new digital camera I got for Christmas. Don't get too excited!

The stuff at the upper left is some home brewed exhaust deflectors. Instead of filling the room with hot air and noise, it now flows to the left behind the desk. Feel free to ignore the Digital badge on the front; that's for my own satisfaction. I know the cable management looks crappy, but it really works well. There's a big empty space under the optical drives and that front USB panel. And no, there's NOT enough room under that exhaust fan for another 80mm one! Temps went up when I had a fan blowing in at the lower right.

Thanks for the encouragement, Spartacus. I like what you're doing with that Compaq.

I thought of the window, but I think it'd be a bit of a waste, considering where the rig's normally parked:

(please excuse the mess )

Painting wouldn't be too tough; all the beige shit you see is removeable plastic panels that snap onto the steel frame. Then again, someone breaking into my house would see a POS, so maybe they wouldn't bother stealing it?

I'd love to make this thing quieter but still run cool. My options are pretty limited when it comes to 80mm fans; quiet ones don't move enough air, and the loudest fan right now is on the PSU. Plus my present budget is pretty near zero. But at least I can plan!

Thanks for the encouragement, Spartacus. I like what you're doing with that Compaq.

I thought of the window, but I think it'd be a bit of a waste, considering where the rig's normally parked:

(please excuse the mess )

Painting wouldn't be too tough; all the beige shit you see is removeable plastic panels that snap onto the steel frame. Then again, someone breaking into my house would see a POS, so maybe they wouldn't bother stealing it?

I'd love to make this thing quieter but still run cool. My options are pretty limited when it comes to 80mm fans; quiet ones don't move enough air, and the loudest fan right now is on the PSU. Plus my present budget is pretty near zero. But at least I can plan!

On the lighter side, Maybe the thief would take a look and take pity and leave a donation to help buy a new one (in the interest of job security).

By the way, from a totally utilitarian point of view, that is a fine looking build. Love the "proof of concept" experimentation with the heat ducting.

Crazy idea here but could you move the back plate to the other side? Then you could put a fan/window on the right instead of left...

You mean flip the mobo upside down and put it on the left side? No can do. The I/O shield and card slot areas are all one solid piece. Even the left and right side panels aren't interchangeable: the left one has a thin grounded sheet metal inside panel, and the right one is just plastic, covering up the sheet steel where the mobo standoffs are installed. The whole damn business is riveted together, too.

Thanks for the encouragement, Spartacus. I like what you're doing with that Compaq.

I thought of the window, but I think it'd be a bit of a waste, considering where the rig's normally parked:

(please excuse the mess )

Painting wouldn't be too tough; all the beige shit you see is removeable plastic panels that snap onto the steel frame. Then again, someone breaking into my house would see a POS, so maybe they wouldn't bother stealing it?

I'd love to make this thing quieter but still run cool. My options are pretty limited when it comes to 80mm fans; quiet ones don't move enough air, and the loudest fan right now is on the PSU. Plus my present budget is pretty near zero. But at least I can plan!

On the lighter side, Maybe the thief would take a look and take pity and leave a donation to help buy a new one (in the interest of job security).

By the way, from a totally utilitarian point of view, that is a fine looking build. Love the "proof of concept" experimentation with the heat ducting.

Thanks for the kind words... I figured to keep noise down, use the wall and the desk as part of the exhaust system, blowing the noise and the hot air into a space where both can be absorbed.

Spartacus mentioned a paint job. Gonna have to research this for the summer; the panels aren't glass-smooth, but a slightly pebbly, matte finish. At the moment, I'm already ruling out black, white, blue, and green. Maybe a metalflake red or purple?

Though I do have five or six rattle cans of Carmine Red Metallic enamel touch-up for a '79 Impala that we sold eight years ago. Might put it to good use, otherwise it's takin' up space in the basement!

EDIT: so much for using auto paints. The plastic panels are ABS plastic, and there aren't many paints that really adhere and not chip or flake off from ABS. Krylon Fusion and Rust-oleum Specialty Paint for Plastic seem promising... just wish they had metalflake and clear coats. Dang. That's the last time I use a case without metal panels!

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